Crimson Blades

Cataclysm is upon us and we're all working our butts off to prepare.  Last night I'm happy to announce that we were successful in downing the Omnotron Defense System in Blackwing Depths.  Despite this success, there's been a common theme that I've noticed lately in guild chat and I feel like it's important to address this.  I am hearing a common trend from guildies and in the interest of trying to clarify a few things, I wanted to answer two questions that the officer core has been receiving lately.

We don't have enough tanks

Honestly, I could go and recruit 5 tanks within a week if I wanted.  This is a matter of ratios.  To raid 25 man dungeons you need 3 tanks.  That means we have a 1:8 tank to non tank ratio.  Typically we run 6-7 healers in new content which means a 1:2 tank to healer ratio.  If we go and recruit tanks, I'm going to have 5 pissed off tanks.  This is a perfect example of why tanks rule the random dungeon queue.  In the past this wasn't as much of an issue because we had numerous level 80 alts.  Yes it's a huge pain in the butt.  My recommendation would be to hang out in Ventrilo more.

The officer's only run with the same people

This is partially true.  We're trying to gear our characters just as fast as the next person.  What's overlooked is why are those people that aren't officers always running with the officers?  It really boils down to communication.  I play this game for the social element.  Sure I can go play my console and play great rpgs but I enjoy working as a team.  Because I personally strive to play at a high level, communication is very important to me.  Thus when I'm forming a group 9/10, it's created in Ventrilo.  Usually it goes something like this…

<Me> Anyone want to run a random?
<Yadomaru> I'll heal it
<Zadonious> I need my random still I'm down to tank
<Kazzandra> I'll come with
<Icurus> I'll come and kill stuff

If we don't fill from that, I'll usually ask guild chat.  It builds group synergy, it means the tank knows Yadomaru's threshold for healing, How Kazzandra will CC a mob and when how to pull accordingly.  It means that Yadomaru knows I'll throw up tranquility as necessary.  Down the road, this has an effect when it comes time to run a 10 man raid on the first week of release.   We know where everyone's gear is at.  We know how each other think.  If you were intent on downing content, do you bring a random member that could be a wild card or do you bring the people you worked to gear with?

Raid teams are built on trust.  When I assemble a raid team I look at who I can trust to fill that role.  If I'm choosing tanks, it's the ones that are most able and willing to listen to more than what they believe is the best method.  It's the people that don't randomly quit when pulls aren't going well and not have the courtesy to say they've had enough.  It's the people that will show up with gems, flasks, and food if need be because the want to clear that content.  

I'd love for everyone in the guild to be included, unfortunately, we have no room to carry someone with a lower iLevel.  Yes,  iLevel/Gearscore/etc does not dictate skill however it does dictate potential.  In the beta, pre-made characters were given 346 iLevel gear and we have 2 people that meet that criteria.  To down this content, we need every player in the raid to bring it.  That means not complaining about enchanting a green.  It means enchanting it because you want to be part of that team.  It means spending the money on gems for gear you'll replace in a week.  It means researching your class and knowing how to itemize it perfectly.  Some people will respond with "I don't have those resources" or "I don't have the time to spend to prepare my character".  If that's the case, you shouldn't be asking to raid with the progression 10 man group.

We have never intended to create an inner circle.  We ran 16 raiders total on our first day working on the Tron council  The following days, we kept people from that group because we knew they knew the fight.  The exception was bringing in Afrey last night.  He came in, watched the stream beforehand, asked a couple questions and we downed the boss in 2 pulls.  He did his research and was prepared.  Preparation and execution is key to our success.  If you want to be one of these people, come into Ventrilo, be social and you'll see an entirely different side of this guild.